[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10423-10424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3918]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0958; FRL- 9634-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
West Virginia; Amendments to West Virginia's Ambient Air Quality 
Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the State of West Virginia (West Virginia). This 
revision pertains to amendments of West Virginia's Legislative Rule 
regarding ambient air quality standards (45CSR8- Ambient Air Quality 
Standards). These amendments incorporate by reference the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide, particulate 
matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and lead. This action 
is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 23, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2011-0958 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0958, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2011-0958. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal 
are available at the West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street SE., Charleston, 
West Virginia 25304.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Asrah Khadr, (215) 814-2071, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

I. Background

    On July 8, 2011, the West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection submitted a SIP revision pertaining to amendments of 
Legislative Rule 45CSR8--Ambient Air Quality Standards. EPA had 
approved a previous revision of Legislative Rule 45CSR8 on February 10, 
2009 (74 FR 6552).

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Amendments to 45CSR8 consist of revisions to section 45-8-1--
General, subpart 1.6--Former Rules, in which the effective and filed 
dates were revised to represent the most recent changes to the NAAQS 
and the addition of subpart 1.5--Incorporation by Reference to section 
45-8-1 to incorporate by reference 40 CFR part 50--National Primary and 
Secondary Ambient Air Quality Standards and 40 CFR part 53--Ambient Air 
Monitoring Reference and Equivalent Methods, effective June 1, 2010. 
The previous version of 45CSR8 merely stated EPA standards for the 
NAAQS and the revised version incorporates by reference the NAAQS and 
monitoring reference and equivalency methods. Also, other amendments to 
45CSR8 include the addition of section 45-8-3--Adoption of Standards 
and the removal of section 45-8-2--Anti-Degradation Policy, section 45-
8-4--Ambient Air Quality Standards, section 45-8-5--Methods of 
Measurement, and section 45-8-6--Reference Conditions.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the West Virginia SIP revision 
regarding the incorporation by reference of the NAAQS for sulfur 
dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, 
and lead into 45CSR8--Ambient Air Quality Standards, which was 
submitted on July 12, 2011. EPA is soliciting public comments on the 
issues discussed in this document. These comments will be considered 
before taking final action.

[[Page 10424]]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, the proposed approval of the West Virginia SIP 
revision regarding the incorporation by reference of the NAAQS for 
sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen 
dioxide, and lead into 45CSR8-Ambient Air Quality Standards, does not 
have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 
67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in 
Indian country located in the state, and EPA notes that it will not 
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal 
law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: February 6, 2012.
W. C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2012-3918 Filed 2-21-12; 8:45 am]
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